


The Secret Dancer

by Zyrielle



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 09:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17077931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zyrielle/pseuds/Zyrielle
Summary: Will has a secret that is revealed when he visits the university with Alana Bloom.There's a reason why he hates Psychiatrists with a passion. There's also a reason why we never see him listen to music or turn on the radio. He's avoiding something and only Beverly knows about it.*Will Graham and KPOP*





	1. The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be shot and crack-ish. But then I got into it and here we are. Let me tell you it is impossible to listen to just one Kpop song. This was only supposed to include songs for reference but people kept barging in.
> 
> Some of the charcters are from Kpop and a movie. Let me know if you recognize them!

"What HAVE you DONE to Will Graham?" Alana seethes as she storms into the lab.

"What have I NOT done to Will Graham?" Beverly swivels herself around, smirk and pencil in mouth, away from her microscope. She had been observing bacteria in a Petri dish when the pretty doctor disrupted her. When Alana's expression remained furious, the pencil drops from her lips. "Holy shit this is serious, isn't it? What happened to Will?"

"I can't- I don't know how or where to start… First he was fine, then it happened. We couldn't stop him or wake him up. It was as if he was in a trance. He was all over the place. It happed so fast. Then he said your name and he…" Alana looks lost. Beverly's blood runs cold. She frantically gets up, spilling a cup of full of pens and paperclips on the desk. She grabs her coat. "Take me to him."

 

 

In the car, Alana starts talking.

"We were at the university doing interviews. Will asked me to be there as a buffer for interacting with the students, so I went. We were finishing up, all we had left to do was let the dean know we were done for the day. That's when we passed the dance hall…"

 

 

~Flashback~

 

 

"Well that wasn't so bad now was it?" Will asks Alana, sighing in relief. They were walking to the main building which housed the dean's office. It was two buildings and a gym away from where they were. Alana glares at him.

"Sure, considering that I did 95% of the talking and you did 100% of the writing. And that when you did decide to ask your questions, I had to convince the students that you weren't threatening them or a creep." Will deflates and raises his arms in defeat.

"Okay, okay. You got me there. I can't help it that these kids have so much energy to do crazy shit, have such scattered thoughts and ask so many… questions." He grimaces as he remembers the student who was clearly high on something and accused Will of being an undercover Illuminati.

"Well, I'm glad you chose to bring me along, I'm happy for any excuse to get out of my office. Although I'm sure Hannibal would have been just as effective, if not more."

Will scoffs. "Hannibal has a certain way of doing things. If I had brought him, we'd have a queue of students-and faculty begging to get interviewed and an on site fan cbase full of people with 'daddy issues'." Alana laughs out loud at that.

"Really?" Will only grumbles in response. "If I didn't know any better Will, I'd say you sound as if you're jealous." Alana says with smirk.

Will stops and sputters."What?! That's not- I'm not-" He looks flustered.

"I just want to do this without any complications, you're great with kids, and I've always preferred your company. Ugh. Can we please just get this over with? Then I'll buy you coffee and those ridiculous pastries you love so much." Alana raises an eyebrow.

"You better! And I want 4 pastries this time." She thinks for before continuing.

"Complications huh? And what's this about you preferring my company? Where were you these last three and a half months since you met him? I'd consider myself blessed to get a text message from you even once a week!"

Will looks mortified. "We work together Alana" He's running out of excuses. They've passed the first building and were halfway across the gym building when they heard it.

 

It started as a faint thumping from a distance which grew louder as they got nearer. They see a group of girls practicing a dance routine to an upbeat, catchy song. They are close enough to hear that the songs aren't in English. The group is just in front of them when last song ends and a new one begins. Will stops dead in his tracks, his eyes glass over. Alana notices when she is four paces ahead.

"Will? What's wro-" She looks over at Will. He's frozen, limbs hanging at his sides, and mouth slack. She taps on his cheek, checking for a response. She snaps her fingers near his ear and checks his eyes-they are out of focus.

"Will? Are you alright? Tell me what's wrong." No response. She can feel panic start to rise within her, she decides to call for an ambulance. She turns away from the noise and reaches for her phone to see that it is already ringing. Hannibal's name is on the screen. She answers the call, ignoring the racket behind her.

"Hey-"

"What the fuck man?"

"Get him out of there!"

"Look at him move!"

"Woot! Go hotstuff!"

"No wait! Let him continue!" A command rings out and silences the other students.

It came from a girl no taller than Alana. She was wearing a shirt that had the words 'CAPTAIN' printed on it in bold letters. She barks orders at her crew.

"Keep formation! Keep dancing!"

"Holy shit! He's killing the routine!" Someone gasps.

 

Alana looks back at Will-he's gone. She breaks out in a cold sweat. Hannibal was nearby and promised to be there in ten minutes, then they would all drive to the hospital together.

She pulls a student standing where Will was earlier. "Excuse me, but this is an emergency. Did you see the man who was standing here earlier? He has brown curly hair-"

"Oh you mean that guy?" The student answers her before she can finish. She looks where the student is pointing.

Will was on the floor surrounded by four other girls, dancing.

"Will! What are you doing?" Alana shrieks. He doesn't react and instead keeps on dancing

Her concern turns into fury. "I was worried sick! You totally owe me six pastries now you minx!"

"Chill lady, he's doing fantastic." The captain shushes Alana. "So who's the pretty boy?" She tilts her head towards Will.

 

Alana faces the young girl. She is Asian with short hair and eyeliner on point-she is hot. "My name is Dr. Alana Bloom. That-" she makes a gesture at Will-who as of the moment is shaking his hips like an earthworm sprinkled with salt and does a split.

"Oh my god-"

"Holy shit-"

The students around erupt in cheers, there are whistles, cat calls, and someone somewhere shouts "I wanna have your babies!"

"That, is Special Agent Will Graham." Alana sighs, exasperated.

"Hot damn. Is that what they teach them at the academy? Oh yeah, my name is Minzy. Is Will alright? He's doing great and all, but it looks like he's kinda out of it..."

Alana looks at Will. His movements are fluid, but his eyes aren't focused on anything. He didn't seem to be in any distress. People don't dance while undergoing seizures or strokes, did they?

The music stops, and Will stops moving as well.

"Moose, what the hell?"

"Sorry Minz, your copy of Kara's STEP is corrupted." A curly haired kid in a knitted cap says. He's right beside the speakers and is working on a laptop.

The dancers stop, so does Will. Alana approaches him. He looks as if he's in a trance. He still does not respond when she calls his name. She checks his pulse, his temperature, makes sure he shows no signs of any difficulty of sorts. Other than this dancing spell, Will is completely fine. She tries to pull him away, to get him to sit or lie down somewhere until Hannibal arrives.

"Aaaw he's leaving..." one of the dancers say.

"Come back anytime beautiful!" someone else says.

"Play the next song!" one of the dancers shout.

"Girl's Generation, Genie coming up!" Moose shouts.

Alana has barely got Will away from the group when the song comes on full blast.

Will shudders and begins dancing again, pulling his arm out of Alana's tight grasp.

"Will, what are you doing? Stop this!" she hisses.

Will makes his way back to the dancers anyway, and joins them. He matches them step for step, like he never left.

"Hey doc, let him dance. He seems to like it. Have you ever heard the saying 'Hips don't lie'? Agent Graham is in his element! Go Graham!" Minzy appears beside Alana and cheers him on. Alana watches on, helpless.

"That guy is crazy Minz, he could totally take your place!" Moose takes his place beside Minzy and puts his arm around her.

"Watch the leg cassanova!" Minzy winces as she shrugs his arm off. Only then does Alana notice that the girl is wearing a cast around her right leg. "But yeah, he totally could take my place until I recover. Or we could keep him in the group!"

Alana takes a second to digest what Minzy just said. She was too busy watching Will strut and kick his legs, and shake his hips in a way that would make a stripper green with envy. Who the hell knew that Will could dance like that?

She looks to her side, her brain finally catching up with what she just heard. Minzy and Moose are looking at her expectantly with puppy dog eyes.

"I-You'll have to ask him. I never even knew he could dance. But he's not okay! We have to get him to a hospital!"

"Well, he looks like he's doing great to me." Moose sniggers.

"Boy's got the beauty, booty and the moves!" Minzy chuckles. They high five.

Heavy and hurried footsteps approach them from behind. Alana could recognize those footsteps from anywhere.

"Alana. I came here as soon as I could. Where is-" Hannibal doesn't finish what he is saying. His eyes are glued to the dancers-particularly to the blue eyed, curly haired beauty in the middle.

 

"Sistar Touch My Body next!" everyone around them shouts their approval.

"I thought you said he was catatonic." Hannibal's face is unreadable as he watches.

"He was. Until he started doing… this." she motions to the dancing group.

"He doesn't look like he's experiencing any difficulties." Hannibal observes.

"Damn right! Let me tell you, that is not an easy dance routine. This guy is a pro!" Moose says.

They all watch as Will gyrates his body, hands running up and down his body with knees half bent. Then he turns around, bends over, ass in the air, does a booty shake with his left leg up in the air, then the right. The sight is equal parts stunning and seductive. Collective gasps could be heard from the spectators, followed by more cheers and cat calls.

Will turns to his side and taps his ass, then he and the dancers are slapping each others butts.

Hannibal clears his throat. "That… certainly is something."

"Isn't he? I can tell everyone here is in love." Minzy gushes like a proud mom.

 

This seems to wake Hannibal up as he says, "As much as this is… entertaining, I must insist that this be stopped. I'll have to check on him, as a doctor. Hannibal Lecter." He introduces himself to Minzy.

"Oh our boy has doctor parents? Nice." Moose snickers.

Minzy elbows his ribs. "Do what he says." She hisses. "Otherwise they might not let him come back."

"Oh right." Moose grabs the laptop on the seat beside them and presses a few keys.

The music stops, then Sistar's 'Ma Boy' starts playing.

"Moose! You're supposed to stop it, not play that grind trap."

"It won't let me. See? Its frozen. I'm sorry Minz, your laptop is a piece of crap."

"Tsk. That wasn't until you spilled your crap on it. It's your fault, you and your stupid smoothies."

"Hey! Don't diss the kale."

 

"Dance with him Amber!" Some guy shouts as someone else drags out two chairs for them to dance on.

Amber positions the chairs and starts dancing with Will.

"Wow, this dance is… something." Alana can't seem to find the words.

Will's body moves fluidly, like a ribbon caught in the wind. He grinds gracefully, effortlessly.

Hannibal swallows visibly, his face looking a bit flushed.

The music suddenly screeches to a stop and is replaced by loud static.

Minzy and Moose, who were arguing over the laptop cover their ears as Moose scrambles to switch the speakers off. From the looks of it, the audio cable had gotten caught on something and got yanked out of the port.

 

Alana and Hannibal rush over to Will, who seems to be finally waking up. He shakes his head and looks at his dance partner. He reaches for her and says "You're not Bev." He collapses. Amber catches him, just as Alana and Hannibal arrive.

Hannibal takes Will into his arms.

"What did he say?" Alana asks Amber.

"He said I wasn't Bev." Amber looks at Will, concerned. "Is he alright?"

"Let's take him to the hospital-now" Alana says.

"Beverly… call Beverly…" Will groans.

"Alana, I'll take Will to the hospital. You get Miss Katz." Hannibal carries Will princess style towards the parking lot.

"Message me what the room number." Alana calls out as she rushes frantically towards her own car.

 

~End of Flashback~

 


	2. Hospital Conversations

Beverly has her head in her hands when Alana is done.

Neither say anything else throughout the duration of the drive to the hospital. Alana is still in shock and Beverly looks like she's being brought to the guillotine. They walk in silence towards the hospital room. Inside, Will is resting on the bed, with a cold compress to his head and a folded towel covering his eyes. Hannibal is watching him with a somber expression on his face. They enter the room quietly. Beverly takes a seat beside Will's bed and sighs. Alana and Hannibal discuss in hushed voices.

"How is he?" 

"Physically, he's fine. He was high on adrenalin and over exerted himself with the uh, dancing. He just needs rest."

"What about the non-physical parts?"

"The doctor couldn't observe him while he was under so they can't say."

"I was thinking about the possibility of conditioning..."

"I read that according to Pavlov..."

 

While the two psychiatrists were nerding out, Will had come to and was having his own whispered conversation with Beverly. 

"Bev...?"

"I'm here Will. What the fuck happened?" 

"It happened Bev. They were playing STEP by KARA. Remember that one? I couldn't-I just-first I was just standing there and then..." 

"I know Will. Alana told me what happened."

Will peeks behind Beverly. Alana and Hannibal are engrossed in their conversation and still hadn't noticed them. 

"What did you tell them?" 

"I haven't said anything. What would I say? That you've been conditioned to dance every time you hear specific kpop songs? That we practiced so hard back in uni that it was practically hard coded into your brain? That we were dance legends back in the day before cellphones were a thing so no videos of our glory days exist?" 

Will's eyes widen as Hannibal clears his throat behind Beverly. 

"They're behind me aren't they?" Will simply nods and tries to hide under the thin hospital sheet. 

Beverly, more used to a swivel chair, tries to turn around dramatically and fails. "Eavesdropping now are we? How cliché."

"Drop the act Katz. What's this about conditioning and hard coding?" 

Beverly does her best impersonation of a fish, but before she can get a word out, the door swings open. 

Someone outside squeals and comes barreling in, as much as they can on a crutch anyway. "Special Agent Will Graham! You're okay!" Minzy is practically bounces over to Will's bedside before throwing herself on the foot end of the bed. "You can talk now right? He can talk right doctor?" She looks at Alana hopefully. 

"Whoa slow down captain, he isn't going anywhere." Moose sails in on his skateboard, followed by a timid Amber. A nurse sticks her head in the room. "No skating in the hospital." She glares at Moose. He jumps off his board and kicks it under the hospital bed. "Of course not! Who dares to skate in a hospital!" The nurse mutters "kids" before leaving. 

"How are you feeling?"

"Man you killed with those dance moves"

"Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"You gotta come back and practice with us!" 

Will peeks from behind his sheet, looking terrified. 

"Do I... know you? Any of you?" 

"You really don't remember anything that happened?"

Will looks to Alana for help. This was the exact reason why he asked for her to go with him to the university. 

Alana gives him a look that says she won't help him this time. 

"I don't remember any of you." Will says softly. 

Minzy perks up. "I'm Minzy, the curly haired mess is Moose, and the pretty one over there is Amber." Moose curtsies and Amber waves shyly at him. 

"Here, let me refresh your memory" Moose holds up his phone. There's a video of Will and the rest of the group dancing from this afternoon. 

Will watches for a while then pushes the phone back.

"I'm sorry. I... I know you came here and all but I can't. It was nice of you all to come see me... But I'd like to rest please." 

"I guess I'll have to recruit you another day then." Minzy winks at him. 

Moose elbows her ribs. "We wanted to make sure you're okay. You had us all worried there for a hot minute." 

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me. Quick! Group selfie!" Moose and Amber are quick to jump into place beside Will's bed and Beverly fails to escape as Minzy snaps a photo. 

Minzy fumbles with her phone for a few seconds and happily chirps "Sent!" when she's done. 

Beverly and Will look at her with questioning eyes. 

"Oh the group wanted to know how you were doing. A lot of them wanted to come but, I got it down to just the three of us."

Her phone gives of a soft and clear 'ding', followed swiftly by five other 'ding's in swift succession. 

Amber and Moose quickly grab their phones to check their chat room.

"Holy shit boss, you gotta look at this." Moose exclaimed. 

"Oh my gosh" Amber gasps.

All three students are looking at both Will and Beverly with mixed expressions of awe, disbelief, and hero worship. 

"Will, I don't like that look on their faces." 

"I know Bev. But what does it mean?" 

Amber, who was closest to Beverly shows her phone, and on it was a picture. It was a photo one almost as old as Beverly and Will's friendship, one that both forgot existed.

Beverly paled. "How-where did you get that?!" 

"Some of the guys are still at the dance hall, where this competition was held." 

 

Alana was about to interrupt, to ask to see the photo. Once again however, she was held in place by Hannibal. If not for Hannibal's interference, Alana would have shooed the students out 2 seconds after they came in and she would have grilled Will and Beverly until they both caved. He puts a finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet. Things were much more... entertaining this way. 

 

Beverly stared at the photo in horror. On it was a group of young people, all of them wearing coordinating outfits, skimpy and sparkly, they also had ridiculous hair. Towards the left was a girl, her black hair done up in a high ponytail. Her left arm was wrapped around the shoulders of an equally young boy, his curly brown hair touching his shoulders. They were both sweaty, but had huge smiles on their faces. They had just won first place for the said competition. 

Their faces were unmistakable, it was pointless to deny it now. Beverly hangs her head in defeat. Will tries to shrink into a ball.

 

"Yes, that is-was me, and Will." 

"Hah! I knew it!" 

"We aren't worthy!" 

"Hyuna is my aunt!" 

They all look at the quiet Amber. She beams eagerly. 

"You're related to the chief?" Will croaks. 

"She's the reason I started dancing! My mom is her older sister. She bullied her into taking care of me when she and my dad were away on business trips . She taught me everything I know!" 

Beverly shudders at her memories of Hyuna. "Oh you poor child. It must have been rough."

Amber looks flushed. "It wasn't so bad... Well, you get used to it, okay?" 

"Hyuna is one of the reasons I'm..." Will chokes and starts hyperventilating.

"Alright children. Mr. Graham has had enough excitement for today. As his doctor, I must insist that we let him rest."

"Aaaw, Daddy and Mommy doctor are telling us to leave." Moose jokes.

"We aren't together." Alana grinds. She takes Moose's phone and sends a copy of the picture to herself.

"What kind of doctor are you?" Moose asks.

"Better yet, what kind of Daddy are you?" Minzy interjects.

"Minz!" "Cap!"

"What? It’s a valid question and people were asking."

Will gives Alana a look that says 'See? This is why I didn't want to call Hannibal.'

"I am a psychiatrist. As a father, I would be very… strict. Now as I was saying-"

"Ooooh. Interesting." Minzy looks at him head to toe. 

"Wait," Alana interrupts, studying the photo on her phone.

"Your aunt, is Hyuna Kim? Dr. Kim?"

"Yes. Do you know her?"

"I met her in one of my classes when I was taking up my PhD. She had very… interesting ideas the approach and uses classical conditioning. As a matter of fact her ideas were unorthodox, experimental and borderline dangerous."

"Ah, now I remember. She was the magna cum laude of your doctorate batch." Hannibal muses.

"Don't remind me." Alana snaps. 

"Suma isn't bad-" Hannibal starts to say.

"Shut it Hannibal. Second best doesn't count!"

Amber muses "Yeah she used to do a lot of weird stuff to me now that I think about it. She said she wanted to turn me into her 'next prodigy', but I wasn't receptive to her techniques."

"Oh my god my poor baby Amber!" Minzy exclaims. 

"Don't worry Amber, we still love you even if you don't know who or what you are: girl, boy, or llama." Moose pats her head.

Amber glares at them. "She did talk to me a lot about her 'obra maestra'." She looks at Will. "That was you, wasn't it?"

Will simply looks at her in horror as Beverly hangs her head guiltily.

"What did she do to you Will?" Alana asks.

"I really must insist that we let Will rest." Hannibal insists. 

"Alright daddy, we're leaving." Moose takes his skateboard from under the bed.

Minzy places a card in Will's hand. "Here, please call us whenever you're ready."

Amber places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a sympathetic look. "I won't tell my aunt I've found you."

They bid Beverly, Alana, and Hannibal their goodbyes. Just before they exit the room, Minzy turns around and says "Don't make us wait too long, or I will tell aunt Hyuna." she winks and they're gone.

 

"How are you feeling Will?" Hannibal takes the seat beside the bed. He feels Will's temperature and his pulse, ignoring the blinking screen and beeping machines showing his status. Will subconsciously leans into the touch. Alana and Beverly share a look.

"I'm just tired, that's all. Thanks by the way, for taking care of the… kids." Will winces at the word.

"I will always take care of you Will. I only want what's best for you."

 

Beverly's eyes rolled so hard she silently swore she saw her brain, meanwhile Alana internally squealed.

"Ugh they're doing that weird thing with their eyes again." Beverly whispers to Alana.

"I know. Shut up or you'll ruin the moment."

"Do you think they know that they're doing it?"

"It's called love Beverly. You wouldn't know because you're heart's in a jar pickled in formalin somewhere in the lab with all the dead bodies."

"Hey-"

"You know, we can hear everything you say right?"

"Oh shit we got caught"

"Why are you still whispering"

"So are you."

"What are we, 12?"

"I don't mind them talking really." Hannibal finally says. Of course he didn't. The devil himself couldn't faze Hannibal fucking Lecter. Hannibal would probably psychoanalyze the balls off the devil and make him work out his daddy issues.

 

"So, mind spilling the beans?" Alana asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't-" Will starts.

"Will's fine as long as you keep him away from Kpop music." Beverly explains lamely.

"That doesn't make any sense-" Alana demands. 

"If you would please be so kind as to enlighten us, Will. You could have this conversation with us, unless you would rather have it with one of the doctors from here." Hannibal says, looking at both Will and Beverly with a patient expression.

Will looks wearily at everyone in the room. Alana had her arms crossed and was looking at him with a stern expression. Beverly was over by the table with her hand on her temples, massaging an imaginary headache away. Hannibal was sitting right beside him, with a patient expression, but his eyes-jfc, there was such intensity in that look that he felt that he would melt if he was subject to it any longer.

 

"Alright, alright. I will-WE will tell you what happened." Will motions to Beverly.

"Fine." She moves to the other end of the bed, settling in. "I'll start."

 


	3. A Ridiculous Backstory

~Flashback~

 

Beverly and her crew were walking back to their 'frat house' late one night. It wasn't really a frat house. Their crew captain had an uncle who owned a house-he owned several houses actually. Her family was stinking rich. Stinking Kims. Stinking Hyuna. No, Hyuna was a good person, in some different dimension, a different universe-but she was a good dance captain and choreographer. She might have been Hitler in her previous life.

Anyways, the house was just off campus. It was a huge two storey house with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, a garage, a basement, and an attic. The house was occupied by Hyuna, some of her cousins who were also in uni, and some members of the crew. Two of the rooms were for the guys, two for the girls, and of course, Hyuna had a room all to herself.

Beverly didn't really want to share a room, but the contribution rent here was a fraction of the cost of rent or student housing. She offered to stay at the attic, Hyuna agreed, but under the condition that she cleaned it out herself. The attic was filled with decades worth of old junk. This was also where she found the third bathroom. They sold, gave and threw away the junk. It was colder and hotter than the rest of the house, but she loved the privacy. She managed the extreme temperature with space heaters and electric fans. 

Halfway towards the house, the guys decide to run to McDonald's.

"I'll pass. I have a paper I need to submit tomorrow." Beverly waves them off as she makes the rest of the trip back alone. She decides to take a shortcut. She crosses the field, jogs past the boy's dorms, and ducks into the forest behind the dormitory building. There was a hole in the fence behind the trees and going through it would save her a ten minute walk back to the house.

There were only a few people who knew about the shortcut. Seth, one of their dancers, used to live in the dorms before he moved into the 'frat house.' One night he got drunk and walked back to the dorms by mistake. He tried to find a shortcut but found a wire fence instead. He took a wire cutter from the tool shed, which was conveniently beside the dorm, and cut a hole in the fence-

 

~Flashback interrupted~

 

"Do we really need to hear this part?

"This is important. And besides, you wanted to know everything right?"

"Alright. Let me go get some coffee first. Looks like we all need it."  

 

~Flashback resumes~

 

The time was 10 pm so there were still a few students milling around. Beverly made sure she wouldn't be seen, she couldn't risk the shortcut becoming common knowledge. Beverly felt her way in the dark, through the trees and the bushes, relying mostly on instincts than sight. The hole as just up ahead when she tripped on something-or rather, someone.

"Holy shit."

The 'thing' she tripped on groaned in pain.

"Are you drunk? High? Don't just-" Then she smells it. She smells the blood and sweat.

"Hey, are you alright? Do you need help? Do you need an ambulance? Stay here-"

"No, don't. They'll find out… Just, get me out of here. Please." a weak voice pleads.

"Are you in trouble?" She hears people in the distance.

"C'mon! whoever finds him gets to have fun first."

"Come out come out wherever you are Will!"

"Oh my god, those sick fucks." Beverly was about to get up and confront them when Will pulled her arm.

"Please don't. They're too strong for you. Please let's just get out of here."

"Shit. Alright, lets go. Can you stand up? Be quiet okay?"

She places his arm over her shoulders and heaves up. He is surprisingly light, and frail.

They make it through the hole in the fence quietly and hobble the way back to the house. Beverly sets him on a chair in the kitchen, gives him a glass of water and goes off to retrieve the first aid kit. She comes back with a small towel, a basin of warm water, and a plastic box with a red cross on it. She soaks the towel in warm water and squeezes. She lifts his chin up and begins cleaning his face.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He shakes his head. She decides not to ask about the details, he might still be in shock. She's relieved to see that he isn't too badly hurt. He had leaves and twigs in his hair, a growing black eye, mud stains and a broken lip. He also has, she notes, the most beautiful eyes she has ever seen, but doesn’t comment on it. She notices that his clothes are filthy and ripped in some areas.

"Could you? So I could…" He says nothing as he lifts his grass and mud stained sweater followed by his ripped shirt. Beverly gasps when she sees the scratch marks and the bruises forming on the frail body, in stark contrast to the pale skin.

"Oh my god. We should call the police. I should freaking murder those bastards. Did they-?"

Beverly catches herself and says "I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. If you aren't ready." Damn where was the captain when you needed her? Hyuna was the one studying to become a psychiatrist. Beverly just wanted to study dead bodies.

"They didn't. I was able to get away before-"

"Oh thank goodness!" Beverly swiftly wraps Will in a hug, unable to help herself. Will freezes for two seconds before melting into the hug and awkwardly returning the gesture. Shit, he was still in shock. He didn't know how to feel yet.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you were hurt. Here, let me check. " She checks over the scratches and bruises. He also has mud stains on his body. She looks at her basin of dirty water and gets an idea.

"Do you feel well enough to move?" He nods.

"Why don't I let you shower or wash up and get changed? I'll grab you some clothes and I'll make us something to eat." Will simply nods. Beverly gets up and leads Will to the men's bathroom. She opens the door and grimaces at the smell. She leads him to her bathroom instead, all the way up in the attic. She grabs an oversized shirt and sweats, and grabs some clean boxers from her drawer-she was NOT touching the boys' boxers.

"I'll be downstairs" she says as he closes the door.

 

Fast forward to 30 minutes later. They're both freshly showered and are wolfing down the kimchi fried rice with fried eggs that she scrounged up from the fridge. It was the only thing she knew to make really.

"So, what's your name? I'm Beverly. You can call me Bev for short."

Will finishes chewing and swallows the food in his mouth before answering.

"Will Graham. Just Will."

"Will Graham? Wait, isn't that-I knew you looked kind of familiar. Didn't you like, win the prettiest boy and girl contest just recently?"

"I did. Unfortunately, some… boys took that as an opportunity, and wanted to have some fun with the 'prettiest' student in the campus." Will says softly. His face is pale, eyes are hollow, and his knuckles are white as he grips the spoon.

"Hey, it's alright. We should call the police-"

"I don't have evidence. It would be my word against theirs. Those were frat boys and guys on the varsity team. These are the sons of the shareholders and the school board. They won't listen to somebody-a nobody like me." Will says. He looks hollow and his eyes are bright with unshed tears.

Beverly curses under her breath. "So what do you plan to do now?"

"I don't know."

"Where do you live?"

"I can't go back there. Please don't make me go back to the dorms." Will pleads.

"Hey, hey. No, I won't make you go back. I was just asking." Beverly kicks herself mentally.

"You should get some rest. You're bunking with me tonight. You're lucky I got the best room in this house."

"You mean that messy attic?" Will gives a small and weak smile.

"YES my attic. Come on. Let's get you to bed before the guys arrive."

"Is this okay? They won't mind?"

"Yeah its all good. I have the attic all to myself anyway."

They clear up the plates and head upstairs. Beverly makes a decision and makes sure Will is asleep before heading downstairs to wait for the guys.

 

The crew supports her decision to keep Will. Hyuna agrees and decides to speak with Will first thing in the morning.

 

When Beverly wakes up, Will is no longer on the cot beside her. The sheets however, are made. She heads downstairs to see Hyuna and Will both eating cereal on the kitchen counter.

 

"Well there she is. Are you sure you want this one Will? I tell you, James and Ben are much better room mates that this slob."

"Good morning to you too. Hey roomie."

"Hello Bev. Good morning."

 

And so, Will Graham moves into the 'frat house and becomes Beverly's room mate.

 

 

~Flashback interrupted, again~

 

 

"So Beverly picked you up like a stray." 

"Aaaw. Yes, he's the stray puppy I picked up in the woods. Took him home, gave him a bath, fed him and gave him a bed."

Will snickers and says "woof." He continues the story.

"I had developed a trauma to bright and flashing lights, being on stage, and loud music, everything that reminded me of the contest..."

 

 

~Flashback resumes~

 

 

Will had nightmares, night sweats and was sleepwalking. He froze and had panic attacks and meltdowns in front of headlights and when hearing loud, thumping music. It reminded him of what he went through that night, of what almost came to pass.

The boys who did it to him, the frat boys and the ones living in the dorm met their untimely end. There was a fire at the frat house. There was a lot of booze, a lot of substance, and they did not make it out. Beverly could not find it within her to feel sorry for them. Hyuna called it divine justice. The ones responsible were gone, perished, but the trauma remained. 

Will Graham was an honor student relying on scholarships and moving into the frat house helped him financially, but he did not have enough to pay for a shrink. He'd tried the university counselor once, but all she wanted to talk about was his scholarship and how he needed to make sure not to do anything that might risk him losing it. He left the office without having said a word. 

His next best option was a gift of Providence. Gifts aren't always what we expect. They aren't always pretty or rich, or pleasant. His next best option was his makeshift landlady. Well, Hyuna was rich, pretty and was only pleasant depending on her mood or the situation. She is also the root of Will's intense dislike of psychiatrists. 

Oh they got along just fine. They prepared and ate meals together, did laundry, watched TV, did chores, bought groceries bantered like siblings. There were days however, when they had their sessions or when Will had an attack, that things would become strained.

They would be fine again after sleeping it off. It came however to a point wherein talking about it no longer worked. They would have to explore something more aggressive.

The only other thing that Hyuna knew how to do, that everyone else in the house could do, that they did very well, was dance. It was not an option that they all considered right away.

The idea was to desensitize him to lights and music. It didn't really work. He still had his episodes. They tried to take him to a theme park, to try to replace the bad memories with better ones. They went home covered in tears, vomit and cotton candy. Will felt terrible and didn't want to do it anymore. Beverly, refusing to give up hope, swore to him that they would return and have a damn good time.

He didn't go outside of the house unless it was to attend classes. Will felt so sick of himself. He was ashamed and would thought of leaving everything behind altogether. Beverly however, refused to let him. She had grown to care for her new roomie and was determined not to give up on him. 

She was walking back to the house one afternoon, elated that she was guaranteed at least an A- in Forensic bio and Serology. She also received a package from her mom who arrived from her yearly trip to Korea. A package from home usually meant food. A package after your mom came from a trip meant even better food. She could not get home fast enough. Her night class was cancelled so she had the rest of the day to herself. She decided not to tell Hyuna so she could skip practice. She took the long route home. She avoided taking the shortcut ever since she found Will.

The long route included walking by the pond. It was maintained by the agricultural department so it was clean and had fish and ducks and lilies. It was beautiful in the afternoons. She noticed a familiar figure sitting by the pond, throwing pieces of popcorn at the ducks.

"Will!" 

She was able to convince Will to walk home with her at the promise of good food and maybe some alcohol. 

She fixed them a pot of her version of army stew-which basically was spicy noodles with chili paste, spam, tofu, mushrooms, sausages, kimchi, rice cake, topped with cheese and sunny side up eggs. She learned the recipe from a youtube video. It was a one way ticket to cardiovascular problems, but Beverly was celebrating. It was pungent and spicy and salty, but it tasted oh so good. Once they had stuffed themselves full they each downed a bottle of soju and moved to the basement.

Half of the basement had turned it into a makeshift dance area but it was too small to accommodate them all. It also had the home theater system. Movie nights and watching their dance videos are done here because of the volume and racket they make. They've had noise complaints before. 

Beverly, more than half drunk, turns on the TV and looks for a specific channel. The volume is turned down low, for Will's sake. She settles on a channel where five slim boys in tight clothing are dancing.

"Oh my god! This is my jam!" Beverly looks over to Will.

"Can I turn it up? Please?" Beverly is red faced and tripping over her feet. Will laughs and motions for her to proceed. Beverly turns it just loud enough to fill the room, but not enough to faze Will. She gets up and starts mirroring their dance moves. 

"What are you doing?" Will says in between giggles. He's pretty shitfaced himself. 

"I don't know if you've noticed Will, but you live in a house that's full of dancers. The only ones that don't dance are you and chief's nerdy cousins." 

Will rolls his eyes. How could he not notice? People were always dancing in the house; up and down the stairs, in the kitchen, in the living room-he was glad he lived up in the attic. 

"What is this anyway?"

"This is Shinee, and the song is Lucifer."

"It's pretty catchy." Will opens another one of the green bottles. He's pretty sure they aren't supposed to be drinking this like beer, but here they are. 

"Oh my god. You've never heard kpop before, haven't you?" 

"Is this kpop?"

"Yes! I listened and danced to this stuff all the time back in middle school before I came here. Some people have their sexual awakening to this stuff. "

Will laughs at that. "I see you guys dance around the house all the time. I think its amazing, what you guys do."

"Aw don't get all sappy on me. Get your ass over here. Join me. Come over to the dark side."

"Beverly I can't dance."

"Everyone can dance Will, some people just look like shit doing it."

Will's face gets even redder. Ever seen a curly haired, blue eyed tomato? Well, the prettiest one was right here and trying to become one with the sofa in front of Beverly.

"I… I don't know how to Bev."

"Oh come on. I'll teach you. Besides its just you and me here, and we won't remember any of this tomorrow." She grabs his hands and yanks him out of the plush throw pillows.

Will, still shy but pliant and utterly shitfaced, laughs and finally lets Beverly lead him to the floor.

 

"Alright, how do we do this?"

"Just follow what they're doing on the screen genius."

"I kind of get that, but-"

"Ugh, come over here."

"Beverly that hurts."

"You stick your hips out like this-"

"Ow!"

"Then you-

"Augh!"

"Wow, I didn't think you were this flexible Graham."

"I think you may have dislocated something."

"Oh don't be a sissy. The moves aren't that complicated."

"Was this supposed to be fun? This is painful."

"Don't be such a crybaby. Give it a chance. The next move is like this…"

One song becomes five, then it becomes twelve until they've lost count. The empty green bottles multiply as well.

They're dancing to KARA's Mister this time. The music has become loud enough to be heard from outside. They don't hear the front door open, nor the footsteps that go down the basement.

"That's it Graham! Remember that ass goes clockwise. Good! Now shoulders!"

They're both dancing in perfect sync, both red faced and sweaty. Will has taken off his sweater and is now just wearing a white tee that is plastered to his skin and puppy printed pajamas.

He isn't reacting negatively to the loud booming music or the flashing lights on TV.

 

The footsteps go back upstairs and don't return.


End file.
